Boston-based
trio Guster, coming to the Palace Theatre on Wednesday,
were begun as a word-of-mouth band back in ’92. An unusual
grouping of two acoustic guitars and bongos, Guster played
short, catchy pop tunes that caught the ears of many young
fans. Their first and second self-released albums sold more
than 40,000 copies combined without the help of a label
promotion or distribution, a feat due to the band’s relentless
touring, the Internet, and their Rep Program—a grassroots
marketing campaign run by their adoring fans.

Guster signed with Sire in ’98, rereleasing their second
album, Goldfly, which included the quirky radio hit
“Airport Song.” Lost and Gone Forever quickly followed,
spawning the popular “Fa Fa” and “Barrel of a Gun,” and
sending the group on the road to win new fans—which indeed
they did.

Guster are now touting their recently released Keep It
Together (Palm/Reprise), which is a tad different than
anything else they’ve done. For one, the songs feature a
traditional drum kit, bass and piano, and the band claim
that recording Keep It Together took longer since
they had to learn their new instruments. Another departure
for this Guster work: The songs are all about a breakup—Ryan
Miller’s. “That’s what was on my mind,” Miller has said,
“and it helped to try and turn it all into music. I would
have to say it was a difficult birth, but the baby is healthy.”
Keep It Together has been their biggest seller yet,
with 98,000 sold in eight weeks.

All of this is fine and good, but it’s their live shows
that have earned Guster the love of many. You can join the
ranks at the Palace Theatre (19 Clinton Ave., Albany) on
Wednesday (Sept. 24). Sam Roberts will open the show, taking
the stage at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $25 at the door, $22.50
in advance. Call 476-1000 for tickets.

Albany
Symphony Orchestra

Summer’s
over. Those Fabulous Philadelphians have slipped back into
Pennsylvania, and the squirrels and other woodland creatures
have reclaimed Tanglewood from the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
This can only mean one thing: It’s time to turn our attention
back to the Capital Region’s own world-class orchestra,
the Albany Symphony.

The ASO, once again performing under the capable baton of
David Alan Miller, begin their season tonight (Thursday,
in Saratoga Springs) and tomorrow (Friday, in Troy) with
a program titled American Romantic. This will include the
world premiere of Peter Child’s Festival, an ASO
commission that Child has dedicated to the orchestra. Special
guest violinist Cho Liang Lin will be featured on Samuel
Barber’s virtuosic (and unabashedly romantic) Violin
Concerto, and the evening will end with Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 7. OK, so Beethoven wasn’t American—let
the German be an honorary Yank for the evening.

When
a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is. We all
know that, but nevertheless—optimists that we are—we hope
against hope that our big break is one day to come. Deep
down, we know we deserve it. So, despite the long hours
spent watching episodes of VH1’s Where Are They Now
and Behind the Music, with their clear lessons about
the fleeting nature of fameand the price to be paid
for success, we crave the big and unlikely break. Beginning
tomorrow (Friday), Capital Repertory Theatre presents an
updated version of the “granddaddy” of all great-deals-gone-south
stories, one that’ll make even the Leif Garrett episode
pale in comparison: Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus.

Marlowe
(a contemporary of Shakespeare’s) used as his model a famed
16th-century magician, whose skills were so prodigious that
he was rumored to be in league with Satan. Marlowe used
this real-life figure as inspiration for his own Dr. John
Faustus, an ambitious scholar whose thirst for knowledge
and power leads him to investigate the black arts, which
in turn lead to a communion with a demonic middle-man named
Mephistopheles. Unheeding of the promised horrors of hell,
Faustus agrees to a deal with the demon’s boss, Lucifer,
for unlimited power in exchange for his own soul. Though
when the time comes to make good on his end, the good doctor
is less than enthusiastic. Will he have time to repent?
Can he pull an Affleck? Or must the wages of sin be paid
in full?